Further to a meeting at Wandsworth Town Hall on 10th October, which was attended by several representatives of Schubert Road’s Neighbourhood Watch, valuable information concerning crimes against vulnerable people in our community has been passed on to us which we would like to share with you:

‘Think Jessica’ is a charity set up by Marilyn Baldwin after her mother was aggressively targeted by scammers: www.thinkjessica.com

“The Think Jessica campaign was started by Jessica’s daughter Marilyn Baldwin in 2007 who for five years had been unable to find any help for her mother. Think Jessica is now a registered charity supported by countless agencies, organisations and police forces nationwide and is committed to making people aware of the danger and financial implications caused by postal and telephone scams, educating professionals and protecting the most vulnerable members of our society from illegal practices.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvVgqPDHrOY

The stories and information we heard during this informative meeting were shocking, and we hope that you will pass the above information on to others and so it can be of use to everyone in trying to prevent relatives, friends and neighbours from being targeted.

1. Ensure your windows have curtains or blinds (particularly in the basement and ground floor rooms) as they provide privacy and can actually improve the resale value of the homes belonging to you and your neighbours.

2. If you own a dog, make sure you don’t allow it to foul on any part of the pavement or road, as this is unhygienic and unpleasant for others on the street. If you have a dog walker, please ensure they are made aware of this also.

3. Keep your front of house as tidy as possible – a neat front garden deters vermin, fly-tipping and improves the appearance of the property, and by extension, house values on the street too.

4. Maintaining the facade of your property wont just improve the look of your home and the street in general, it will also mean you are less likely to find problems like damp which often go undetected and untreated.

5. If you are moving, redecorating or receiving deliveries, make sure that no rubbish ends up on the street; unless bagged up for collection on the appropriate day. Also ensure that any people you may have working on or in your property clear up any mess made and keep the pavements free for others at all times.

Most of the above points are taken from local bylaws and are enforceable by the council. We hope that these help to ensure that Schubert Road remains a pleasant place to live for all.

If you use your deadlocks when you go to bed make sure you keep the keys in a secret but easy to hand place: you may need to leave in an emergency – for example in the event of a fire. If you prefer not to deadlock your door at night, secure your front door with heavy duty sliding bolts.

Do not leave keys near windows or doors inside your home: burglars can use ‘fishing rod’ devices to retrieve your keys through your letterbox and use them to enter your home or steal your car. They will probably do both.

French doors or windows should be secured by fitting lockable door security bolts at the top and bottom of each opening section. Your insurers may also require the use of a centrally mounted British Standard 3621 deadlock.

Outward opening doors must be fitted with hinge bolts as exposed hinges are vulnerable to attack.

If you live in a flat or maisonette, check the security of main communal entrances and seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about its security.

Always close communal doors and never allow access to anyone you do not recognise.

Never hide keys outside your home. If you have a spare set leave them with a friend or trusted neighbour.

Only leave keys with trusted tradesmen as they may be easily copied.

If you have just moved in we advise you consider changing the door locks – you don’t know who may have a key.

This weekend is the final weekend of the open house event for Putney (and the rest of Wandsworth too) artists to showcase and sell their work in their homes.

Find more details of who is participating and their locations at the website: http://www.putneyartists.org/index.html and see the map below (available printed in several local shops and outside the Co-Op by East Putney station).

Where will you, or your elderly neighbour, be on Christmas Day? With 3 months to go it is time to start planning. Motivated by the fact that 230,000 older people spent Christmas alone last year Caroline Billington has set up Community Christmas with the vision that ‘no elderly person in the UK should be alone on Christmas Day unless they want to be’.

‘Being alone on Christmas Day is especially hard,’ Caroline explains. ‘The media constantly promotes Christmas as a time to spend with family and friends, a time for fun and merriment.

So for those with family either far away or passed on, loneliness becomes especially intense. Additionally, lunch clubs and even the local cafe will be closed so there is nowhere to go.

We are delighted to be working with Neighbourhood Watch as the local organisers are the people who have already shown they care about their community and are already making positive change.”

Community Christmas is an umbrella organisation that uses its website to publicise events around the country, ensuring that the elderly, or those that are concerned about them, can find a place providing food, entertainment and companionship on Christmas Day.

If you know of a local event, or are interested in setting up one up in your Neighbourhood Watch area, then contact Caroline at carolineb@communitychristmas.co.uk or visit the Community Christmas website www.communitychristmas.org.uk.

General and Recycling rubbish is collected on Tuesday morning and rubbish should ONLY be left out for collection from Monday after 10pm and before 6.30am on Tuesday.

Please ensure strong refuse bags are used and that they are correctly bagged up to prevent tearing as vermin such a foxes rip open the bags to get at the contents and leave the them strewn across the pavement and road. Please make sure that NO item placed on the pavement causes a blockage to those using the pavement.

Orange Recycling sacks are dropped off every 3 months by the waste disposal men. Should you run out before a delivery the Orange Sacks are available from Putney Library on Disraeli Road (Just off Putney High Street). If you are unable to collect sacks then please phone 020 8871 7497 or email recycling@wandsworth.gov.uk to request delivery.

You can recycle paper, card, cans, glass, aerosols and plastic bottles in your orange sacks which are provided FREE of charge from the council.

The planning committee are due to decide on the approval or refusal of the Boris Bikes on Manfred Road on Tuesday 8th October 2013 at 7.30pm at Wandsworth Town Hall.

Should you wish to attend, Louise McMeekin (Schubert Road Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator) will be there from 7pm in order to hear the decision. Any residents who wish to support the refusal of these plans would be very welcome.

Please find attached the covering agenda, please note that our issue is Item 34 and details are located on Page 299:

If you smell gas please call Transco on 0800 111 999 and evacuate the building – without using the Entryphone System or turning any electrics (including lighting) ON OR OFF as this could cause a spark.

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